In the face of ever-increasing traffic loads on heavily traveled toll roads, the supervisory highway authorities have been hard put to maintain a smooth flow of traffic, particularly in areas of maximum congestion such as toll plazas. Here, it is customary to require a substantial number of personnel, this being true even with an increasing use of "exact change" lanes. The inconvenience to travelers is substantial, quite apart from the expense incurred by the authorities in issuing tickets and/or collecting tolls from motorists as they enter and leave the toll road, or pass given toll collection points located along the length of the highway.
In its broader sense, the present invention is a method of and a means for permitting tolls to be automatically charged on toll roads, toll bridges, toll tunnels, and other areas which require the collection of a fee for vehicle use therein. In a more specific sense, the invention is a method of automatically charging tolls in the required amount, without requiring stoppage of a vehicle as it passes a given charge point, and a computerized system for implementing this desirable aim.
It is known, in the prior art, to permit one to be automatically charged with a toll as his vehicle passes a given point on a highway or other area, the use of which requires payment of a toll or similar fee. However, deficiencies in the prior art arrangement have been noted. For example, it has been proposed to equip vehicles with transponders operative upon sensors mounted in the road (British Pat. No. 1,219,123) in association with a pulse counter pre-set according to the amount of an advance deposit account established by the motorist.
It has also been proposed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,522, to mount a scanning device adapted to read bar codes on freight cars, with a view to maintaining up-to-date information as to the location of the cars.
It is, of course, also known to provide cameras at toll plazas, which will photograph the license plates of vehicles that pass through the plazas without paying tolls.
All of these methods of identifying vehicles as they pass given points, and in some instances establishing the amounts of the tolls required for vehicle use, have nevertheless failed to accomplish certain very important objects.
For example, the widespread use of credit cards, and the proliferation of so-called "credit card companies" issuing cards that can be used to make purchases of an almost limitless variety, clearly makes it desirable to offer a credit-type toll system that will permit one to automatically and with maximum convenience, charge tolls in the proper amounts, and be billed by the credit grantor on a regular monthly statement.
Another important object of the present invention, designed to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art systems, is to not only automatically charge a toll against a vehicle passing a given toll charge point, but also transmit the account identification made at that point, through a computer system in which, fully automatically, the identification will ultimately be transmitted to the billing authority of the particular grantor of the credit card used by the motorist, and will be automatically billed as part of the regular, periodic billings addressed to the customer for purchases made on the credit extended by the grantor.
Another object of the present invention, intended to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art systems, is to offer a system which will speed up the flow of traffic through toll plazas, where traffic often becomes choked during periods of heavy use of the facility, often creating long traffic jams with consequent irritation and very importantly, a great waste of fuel.
Another object of importance is to provide appreciable reductions in the normal expenses required by highway or tunnel toll authorities in the maintenance of toll booths. Even with "exact change" lanes, the present system requires that toll plazas be staffed with a large number of employees, thus making it obviously desirable that a fully automatic system for extending credit to motorists be provided, in which the toll will be charged automatically and without requiring the present of employees of the toll-levying authority.
Another important object, especially for business users, is to automatically provide, for the motorist, a receipt and permanent record of the transaction to facilitate charging of the toll as a business expense. To this end, the invention is so designed as to provide automatic recordation of tolls charged on credit, not only for individual motorists, but also for the operators of fleets of trucks, limousines, or other business vehicles. Fleet operators are enabled, in accordance with the invention, to have a complete record of the exact times and amounts of recorded tolls. They are thus provided not only with an automatic and accurate record of the toll incurred by operation of the vehicles in the fleet, but also are given the capability of monitoring driving times of their vehicle operators, for example. Utilizing the system comprising the present invention also permits fleet operators to maintain accurate records relating to other aspects of vehicle fleet operation, including the number of trips taken by individual vehicles, vehicle location on the highway system, and exact toll recording times.
Another object is to provide further advantages to vehicle drivers or owners, for example elimination of the requirement for stopping of a vehicle to pay a toll, and passage of a vehicle through a toll station at close to a normal driving speed.
Another object is to provide advantages to a vehicle owner or driver, by eliminating or minimizing congestion at toll plazas, and to increase economical fuel usage by minimizing stop-and-go driving.
Still another object is to promote driver convenience by eliminating the necessity of one's endeavoring to locate coins or bills to pay tolls on approaching toll plazas.
Another object is to provide advantages for the authority operating the turnpike, bridge, tunnel or the like, and responsible for collecting the tolls, by not only reducing the number of toll booth operators as discussed above, but also, reducing the total amount of cash handled and in this way promote better security.
Another object is to provide, for a vehicle owner or driver, a complete record usable in justification of business travel expenses, for such purposes as supporting tax returns and obtaining reimbursement for the expenses incurred.
Another object is to facilitate the calculation and granting of "commuter discounts", e.g., monthly rates and the like.
Another object is to provide further advantages for a toll road authority, by smoothing traffic flow and permitting vehicles to proceed through the toll station at close to normal highway speeds.
Yet another object is to provide an advantage for a toll road authority or the like, in that funds will be transferred to the authority directly to the bank used by them, through electronic fund transfer on a regular basis.
It is also an object to promote advantages to the credit-extending and billing authorities, by increasing their total billing volume.
Another object is to reduce the amount of cash flow through the toll system, so that the cash that must be counted and picked up at toll plazas, or elsewhere in the system, and transported in armored vehicles, can be greatly reduced.